Toxic ignorance

In absence of robust framework and infrastructure, segregation of domestic hazardous waste remains a distant dream for most Indian cities

- RICHA SINGH

HARMFUL CHEMICALS have become a constant companion of modern life. They are used to sanitise houses, power bulbs and tube lights and they even find safe refuge in medicines, ointments and the like. While these potentially dangerous products are handled with extreme care at home, similar caution is not exercised when throwing them out with household garbage.

The reckless handling of such toxic garbage, classified as domestic hazardous waste, continues even outside households because of the country's vague legal framework and a virtually non-existent management mechanism. As a result, such hazardous waste, though produced in small quantities, piles up in landfills and other dumping grounds.

“The dangers of such disposal methods might not be immediately obvious, but improper disposal of these wastes can pollute the environment and pose a threat to human health,” notes the US Environmental Protection Agency.